Partition

Partition Synopsis

A little over a century ago, Ireland was partitioned into a unionist north and a nationalist south. What began as an expedient and temporary political device to resolve conflicted tensions inside the United Kingdom was to become a permanent international frontier between two sovereign states, and Britain's only land border wit the European Union.

The passion and emotion felt about partition has not dissipated in the intervening century; it is as controversial now as it was then. This concise introductory history explains why Ireland was partitioned and how the two states on the island were created.